I’m sure many of you have seen ads and signs that say “Merry Xmas”. It’s used often in print. I’ve seen and heard of people getting riled up about it too. They say that we’re taking Christ out, or “X”ing him out, of Christmas. There is even a status on facebook that people are posting saying that it shouldn’t be used! So.... Is there truth to this argument?
No, not really...
If you do some research, you’ll find that "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as "Christ". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century.
So there is the answer.
Also, advertisers actually prefer it because it saves space. It also saved lettering when using the old printing press. Even on signs, they can maximize space by shortening the word!
By the way, “Christmas” as a holiday was originally started by the Roman Catholic Church as a “Holy MASS” in remembrance of Christ’s birth. It wasn’t started by the early new testament Christians as some might imagine. Just another fact to ponder!
Oh, "Holiday" means “Holy Day”.... for you politically correct people out there! ;)
~Matt
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